A spouse is a significant other in a marriage . The word 'spouse' can only ever be used when a couple is married legally or by common law . A male spouse is called a husband while a female spouse is called a wife .
21-414: The legal status of a spouse, and the specific rights and obligations associated with that status, vary significantly among the jurisdictions of the world. These regulations are usually described in family law statutes. However, in many parts of the world, where civil marriage is not that prevalent, there is instead customary marriage, which is usually regulated informally by the community. In many parts of
42-511: A referendum guaranteed women legal equality with men within marriage. The new reforms came into force in January 1988. Although married women in France obtained the right to work without their husbands' permission in 1965, and the paternal authority of a man over his family was ended in 1970 (before that parental responsibilities belonged solely to the father who made all legal decisions concerning
63-410: Is heavily suppressed. It is also very difficult to form a romantic relationship or to find a life partner by one's own will. It is generally hard for boys to find life-partners; they need to become earners as Bangladeshi society is very conservative and patriarchal. The society largely relies on the arranged marriage system. There are strong records of guardian objections for various reasons whether
84-413: Is in some jurisdictions a void marriage or a voidable marriage . Forcing someone to marry is also a criminal offense in some countries. Family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations ) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations . Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: This list
105-402: Is killed, however in some cases couples are killed. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan counted about 869 such cases reported in the media, but noted that many such cases may also be unreported. In Bangladesh, there is a strong code of social and cultural prohibition on inter-gender friendship and/or romantic relationship; there have been so many incidents of unrequited love of boys, in
126-729: Is not exhaustive and varies depending on jurisdiction . Issues may arise in family law where there is a question as to the laws of the jurisdiction that apply to the marriage relationship or to custody and divorce, and whether a divorce or child custody order is recognized under the laws of another jurisdiction. For child custody, many nations have joined the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in order to grant recognition to other member states' custody orders and avoid issues of parental kidnapping . Love marriage A love marriage
147-720: Is one which is driven solely by the couple, with or without consent of their parents, as opposed to arranged marriage . While there is no clear definition of love marriage, the term was in common use globally during the Victorian era . It is still used in the Commonwealth countries of India , Pakistan , Bangladesh and Sri Lanka , as well as Nepal and Egypt . According to the American historian Stephanie Coontz , marriages between Anglo-Saxons were organised to establish peace and trading relationships. She writes that in
168-655: Is the exclusive right of the husband". Depending on jurisdiction, the refusal or inability of a spouse to perform the marital obligations may constitute a ground for divorce , legal separation or annulment . The latter two options are more prevalent in countries where the dominant religion is Roman Catholicism , some of which introduced divorce only recently (i.e. Italy in 1970, Portugal in 1975, Brazil in 1977, Spain in 1981, Argentina in 1987, Paraguay in 1991, Colombia in 1991, Ireland in 1996, Chile in 2004 and Malta in 2011). In recent years, many Western countries have adopted no-fault divorce . In some parts of
189-406: Is used to describe a new emerging form of marriage which contains elements of both arranged marriage and love marriage. Love marriages are seen as imposition of the younger generation's will over the older generation's wishes. In Pakistan, arranged marriages are the norm and love marriage is rare in the society. Several cases of honour killing are recorded every year. In most cases, the woman
210-424: The 11th century, marriages were organised on the basis of securing economic advantages or political ties, and the wishes of the couples were not considered important. The bride was especially expected to defer to her father's wishes. Coontz has argued that while love marriages were not universal, marriages based on love and personal commitments started to emerge as early as the 14th century and really began to flower in
231-648: The 1700s. In 1140, Decretum Gratiani was written by Gratian. It made consent of the couple a requirement for marriage. The book became the foundation of the policy of the Christian Church on marriage. The 1840 marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made love marriage more acceptable in the minds of the British public in the Victoria era , and love marriages were on the rise. In India, love marriages started becoming popular in urban areas in
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#1732765361824252-544: The 1970s. Initially, love marriages occurred between acceptable communities. Love marriage now commonly transcend ethnic , community and religion barriers. In a 2012 survey conducted by Ipsos for the TV channel NDTV , 74% of the respondents said that they preferred an arranged marriage. In 2010, the National Commission for Women (NCW) released a report stating that it had documented 326 cases of honour crime in
273-405: The activities of children of the marriage, have typically been given to male marital partners. However, this practice was curtailed to a great deal in many countries in the twentieth century, and more modern statutes tend to define the rights and duties of a spouse without reference to gender. Among the last European countries to establish full gender equality in marriage were Switzerland. In 1985,
294-643: The boy is not liked by the girl's parents or the boy is unemployed or of lower income status etc. In this case, the girl is forcibly married to a boy of her parents' choice, and if the girl elopes with another boy, her parents may file a police case against the boy. This social and cultural trend is still prevalent in Bangladeshi society. Some couples may commit suicide for not being supported by their families and society. In Egypt , love marriages, especially interfaith marriages , are generally considered socially unacceptable. Interfaith marriages are often seen as
315-464: The children), it was only in 1985 that a legal reform abolished the stipulation that the husband had the sole power to administer the children's property. in the 1980s. In various marriage laws around the world, however, the husband continues to have authority; for instance the Civil Code of Iran states at Article 1105: "In relations between husband and wife; the position of the head of the family
336-439: The context of unrequited love, boys may face punishment by mob justice on the request of the girl whom the boy loves or the girl's guardians and in the case of romantic relationship of two individuals, they secretly meet and talk, and may elope if their respective guardians are not willing to get them married. Due to a large portion of society's Islamic adherence and conservative mentality, inter-gender friendship and romance
357-470: The husband may demand back the bride price that he had paid to the girl's family. The girl's family often cannot or does not want to pay it back. Regardless of legislation, personal relations between spouses may also be influenced by local culture and religion . There is often a minimum legal marriageable age . The United Nations Population Fund stated the following: In Western countries, spouses sometimes choose not to have children . In some parts of
378-503: The past year, majority of which were due to inter-caste marriages . In a 2014 survey conducted by the United Nations Population Fund and International Center for Research on Women, 11.7% of men and 8.5% of women surveyed claimed that they chose their partners and married with or without the consent of their families. The boundaries between the two types have started to blur. The term love-arranged marriage
399-403: The world, spousal rights and obligations are related to the payment of bride price , dowry or dower . Historically, many societies have given sets of rights and obligations to male marital partners that have been very different from the sets of rights and obligations given to female marital partners. In particular, the control of marital property , inheritance rights, and the right to dictate
420-406: The world, the formal dissolution of a marriage is complicated by the payments and goods which have been exchanged between families (this is common where marriages are arranged ). This often makes it difficult to leave a marriage, especially for the woman: in some parts of Africa, once the bride price has been paid, the wife is seen as belonging to the husband and his family; and if she wants to leave,
441-443: The world, there is greater expectations that heterosexual couples will procreate, such is the case in northern Ghana . For example, the payment of the bride signifies a woman's requirement to bear children, and women using birth control are at risks of threats and coercion. There are many ways in which a spouse is chosen, which vary across the world, and include love marriage , arranged marriage , and forced marriage . The latter
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